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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26368822">(anti)climax</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilchicken/pseuds/thedevilchicken'>thedevilchicken</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Assassin's Creed - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Death Fix, First Kiss, Getting Together, Gods, M/M, Nudity, Rescue Missions, Underworld</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:07:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26368822</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilchicken/pseuds/thedevilchicken</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Retrieving Brasidas from the underworld doesn't quite live up to Alexios' expectations.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexios/Brasidas (Assassin's Creed)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>We die afen and afen</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(anti)climax</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/wednesday/gifts">wednesday</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well, this isn't precisely how I imagined it would be," Brasidas says, as he's taking off his tunic. </p><p>Alexios - who's already nude thanks to years of practice in the art of prompt undressing - looks at him. He doesn't think he's scowling, and he's maybe not quite frowning, and the way his mouth twists really isn't a smile, so the expression probably looks a lot like something Hippokrates might be called to cure. He wasn't meant to be looking at him in the first place, so that probably just makes it worse, though that was only something self-imposed; he was always going to have to look, sooner or later, just not with an expression on his face like Phobos just stepped on his foot.</p><p>"You imagined this?" he asks. </p><p>Brasidas tosses his tunic to the ground and starts on the loincloth he's been wearing underneath and Alexios looks away again. It's stupid, really, because it's not like he hasn't seen Brasidas naked. It's not like he doesn't see at least five to ten men naked every day, just casually, because it's not usually a thing that matters. Now, though, it matters more. </p><p>"Once or twice," Brasidas says. "Every now and then." And Alexios isn't looking, but he doesn't need to look to know there's a teasing smile on Brasidas' face. He can hear it, because his voice changes when he's smiling, which isn't a thing he should either know or care about. Of course, if he didn't care he wouldn't be here. </p><p><i>Here</i> is a temple outside Ephyra. It's not the one where the priests are gathered - it's a smaller one, older, out in the woods and half buried under a landslide. They call the other one the <i>Nekromanteion</i> but this is where Odysseus really came to find Tiresias, down the passageways and through the rusted iron gates. </p><p><i>Here</i> is a dusty hall, and the woman who gave him the directions probably didn't mean him to make it there alive - three men tried to send him down to Hades the traditional way before he even made it to the door. He sent them first, then he went inside; now, here he is, at the temple between worlds, through a door that his grandfather's spear managed to open and not just by him using it like a prybar. Honestly, it's surprising how often that works. </p><p>Here he is, at the temple between worlds, with Hades and Persephone on their thrones watching the two of them undress. It's a bit disconcerting to say the least. </p><p>"Now and then?" Alexios asks. "I didn't even know you'd even thought about it once." </p><p>Brasidas chuckles and throws the loincloth down to join his tunic. He sets his hands at his bare hips and gives him a look. </p><p>"Alexios," he says, and gestures at him with one hand. "Look at you. You're like a god made flesh." He glances away toward their rather godly hosts and shrugs at them expansively; Hades rolls his eyes and shakes his head and Persephone just smiles; were she human, Alexios thinks the corners of her eyes would crinkle. "If I hadn't thought about it at least once over the years, that would probably have meant I'd died. Though, as it turns out, death hasn't done a thing to stop it." He cocks his head. He narrows his eyes. "Are you telling me you never thought of me like that?" He crosses his arms over his chest. "Because if you are, I don't believe you."</p><p>This time, Alexios scowls. Hades sighs out loud, exasperated. When Brasidas laughs, the warmth of it makes Alexios' cheeks feel warm with it, too. </p><p>The fact is, he thought about him like that often. Sometimes it was difficult not to - he's never known a man like him, before or after. Now he knows Brasidas was thinking the same things, or close. </p><p>"Every now and then," he says, with the beginnings of a smile. "Once or twice. You know how it is." And Brasidas grins at him, and grasps him by his forearms, so Alexios does the same to him. It doesn't last, though; Brasidas throws his arms around him and he holds him tight, so Alexios does the same thing, too. Brasidas' beard tickles his neck as his hands press flat against his back. Alexios holds on. </p><p>Of course, what they're meant to be doing is definitely not hugging tight enough to make their ribs creak in the middle of a temple in front of the king and queen of the underworld. Alexios came here to take him back: he told Hades it was because Sparta needs him, but it sounded feeble even to himself. It sounded feeble even though he'd told himself that that was all it was all the way up north from Sparta, until he'd almost believed it. It had just seemed like such a better answer than <i>because I miss him since he died</i>.</p><p>It's meant to be some kind of sex ritual. Alexios isn't totally convinced that Hades didn't make it up on the spot out of some kind of vast Olympian boredom, but it's hard to argue with the god who had dominion over life and death, especially when the life or death in question is the man's whose life you want to save. The whole point of taking their clothes off is Hades' little game, and Alexios would do it. He way Brasidas' hands drift down his back says he would, too. Maybe a dusty temple floor isn't the ideal - Brasidas said he hadn't imagined it like that and frankly, Alexios had better ideas himself - but...he's prepared. It's not like he's not done it in public before, or at least halfway there; Alkibiades saw to that. </p><p>"Well, this isn't anywhere near as awkward as I'd hoped," Hades says. He sighs again and when the two of them part to look at them, he wafts a hand dismissively toward the temple's nearest iron gate. "Just go."</p><p>Alexios frowns "You're sure?" he asks. </p><p>"Do you want me to change my mind? We'll just ask Eros how this all turns out." </p><p>They dress. They leave. There's no warning that he shouldn't look at him until they get outside, no Cerberos, no rivers of the dead; it was easier than he'd thought, all things considered. Turns out the gods are fucking capricious. That shouldn't come as a surprise, but somehow it still does.</p><p>"Well, that was an anticlimax," Alexios says, as they're wandering through the woods to find where Phobos has got to. </p><p>Brasidas catches his arm. Alexios turns. And, a moment later, whatever words he might have meant to say are muffled when Brasidas kisses him; whatever words he might have meant to say really don't matter after that, not even when the kissing's done, and his face is flushed, and Brasidas pulls back. </p><p>"Do things seem any more climactic now?" Brasidas asks, with one eyebrow arched. </p><p>Alexios laughs and rests his forehead down against Brasidas' shoulder, then looks back up with a smile. </p><p>"I don't know," he replies. "Maybe we should try this without clothes again, somewhere where the gods aren't watching?"</p><p>The look on Brasidas' face says he agrees. </p><p>So maybe it's not been quite the trial that Alexios expected, and nothing's been the way that they'd imagined it would be. But as they make their way toward Ephyra, Brasidas' shoulder nudges his and Alexios really can't stop smiling until it actually hurts. There's a smile on Brasidas' face, too, every time he turns his head to glance at him. He glances often. If he had to hazard a guess, he'd say Brasidas missed him, too.</p><p>There's not a lot he wouldn't have given up to get Brasidas back. Turns out he's gained something instead.</p>
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